Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by ralree:

4.04/5 rDev +6.3%look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 5

A: Clear brown with a white head, average retention, no lacing. Poured with a 2-finger head, settled into no head.

S: Extremely smokey, like a Rauchbier from Schlenkerla. Rich and grainy malt is very strong, and a nice sweet fruity background is present as well. Definitely some hops in there, and a bit of chocolate.

T: Very very smokey, like a campfire. Yet, the Schlenkerla I've had is smokier. Style underneath the smoke is a nice sweet ale, with honey, northwestern hops, and a hint of chocolate. Aftertaste is still smokey, and the sweetness sticks with it. Metallic flavor comes out after a bit of drinking, which detracts from the taste.

More User Reviews:

Appearance  This one is dark orange in color with a nice, retentive off-white head.

Smell  The smoked non-bacon pork almost billowed out of the taster glass. I could pick up some faint malt and hop notes as well but the smoke here was overpowering.

Taste  This one eased up a lot at the taste. Its still very smokey, mind you, but the other flavors of the ale came through nicely. The crisp American grain went well with the smokey character and I could even pick up some decent citrus hops.

Mouthfeel  This ale is bigger than light-bodied but not quite medium and will leave you with smokey breath for sure.

Drinkability  Great mix of flavor and character here. Its not as harsh as a true German Rauchbier, which some find a bit too much.

A: Amber color with a medium-sized tanned head that leaves some lacings.

S: The smell is rather malty with notes of notes of butterscotch. Some earthy hops and a hint of lemon-peel. The smoke is noticeable, but very faint - just a hint of smoked ham in the background. However, as the beer warms up, the smoke seems to get more pronounced. But it's still very mellow. It's quite balanced, but for a smoked beer it's not very smoky.

T: The taste is rather sweet with biscuity malts to the fore. Some diacetyl. Earthy and citric hop notes complement the malts nicely. As in the smell, the smoke (we're talking smoked ham rather than forest fire here) is very restrained and doesn't get noticeable until the finish where it is complemented by some bitterness, citric hops and a hint of minerals. Well hidden alcohol.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation.

D: I was quite underwhelmed by this one. It is far from the original German smoked beers. This is more like an American mildly hoppy beer with a touch of smoke to it. It's to clean and uncharismatic.

The Rogue Smoke Ale pours a hazy, copper red with a decent sized, fizzy white head that lasted pretty well.

The aroma is strong smoke, like smoked summer sausage or bacon and mesquite.

The taste is some malty, almost candy-like, sweetness with strong smoke followed by a nice hoppy finish. Pretty well balanced, but the candy sweetness was a bit much at times. The palate was a little on the thin side.

Overall, a very nice smoked beer. The more of these I have, the more I like them!

Appearance: Hazy amber hued brew with a very sticky off white creamy lace.

Smell: Very aromatic with a whaft of creamy and smooth smelling smoke ... similar smoke aroma as cured meat or fish.

Taste: Soft and velvety smooth with a quite luxuriant and creamy malt mouth feel. A dose of caramelly sweet malt is quickly quelled by an assertive yet balanced smoky flavour. Lingering spicy hop lays its self from middle to end to add a touch more to the complexity while the smoke stays for a long time with an increasing warming feeling from the alcohol and smoke.

Notes: A step above the rest and an absolute delight to savour. Just a small warning ... the 7 oz bottle is not enough especially if you are a smoked ale lover.

bomber bottle, typical Rogue lack of freshness indication, this one pours medium amber, slightly orange tinged, and abit cloudy, off white head, initially puffy, settling down to a minor film. This one leaves gobs of thick lacing. Nose is mildly of rubbery old gym shoes and some malt. this creation is moderatly smoked to my taste buds. Tastes like the malts have been smoking for a reasonable/judicious amount of time. Clearly this would be a fine choice to go along with some BBQ or other smoked foods. Another fine brew from the crafty folks @ Rogue

Finally, every other place was out of this. Poured clear amber-brown with a minimal white head. Rich smoked wood and bacon nose. It smells like a just-lit campfire with a solid hop backing. Creamy mouthfeel with a long finish. Taste is just what I want with my smoke ales: STRONG smoke. Hearty, peaty, oaked, and hopped. Some balance with the malt. Spicy hop finish. Incredible. Its like a Aecht Schlerenka in ale form. I could drink this all night.

650mL bomber poured into tulip glass. Pours a hazy copper color. Thick head rapidly disappears. Smokey campfire aroma is very apparent. Taste is smoke and malt with some hops and citrus. Is also quite dry. Pretty good stuff but not really sessionable.

My first true smoke beer. Orangey color with a low beige head. Aroma is distinct beef jerky. Flavor also reminds me of beef jerky, with a touch of saltiness (or am I imagining that?). Very light hops and malt, perhaps a touch in the finish. The flavor is very distinctly smokey, and all the way through the glass, still feels like tasting a piece of smoked meat. Interesting.

Reddish brown clearish appearance (translucent on the second glass), decent small-bubbled head of about one finger after settling a while. Rings of fairly thick lace. Nice aroma, plums and an appetizing applewood kind of smoke, though there are elements of musty thicker-barked wood. Light mouthfeel, carbonation is fairly high, overall a nice body (though I personally would like it to be a bit fuller). Easy drinker here, mainly a neutral malt with an apparent smokiness but nothing that is at overwhelming. Aftertaste is pleasant, a continuing "campfire" sense that becomes more pronounced on warming. Hops also become more evident at the close, though to me, it might have been interesting to see how an even higher hop level added to the complexity (though mainly for my own entertainment). Still, I would recommend this one to someone looking for a nice and relatively accessible Smoked beer.

Appearance: Slightly cloudy amber hue nice sized cream head leaves nice evenly strung lacing. Aroma: Wonderful balanced smokey aromatics with a nice amount of hops kicking around and a caramel malt profile is evident. Taste: Nice strong smokiness not in your face as some Bamber born rauchbier, but smokey all the same smoked malts blend well with the heavily hopped profile malts are reserved to some they are enought to not offend while others may yearn for more smoke. Mouthfeel: Medium bodied ale smooth carbonation as the end of the bottle nears body becomes a bit thicker. Drinkability: One of the best all around rauchbiers I've tasted so balanced yet heavily smoked.

Pours a hazy orange color with a rocky 1.5-finger off-white head. The head recedes into a patchy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of smoke (surprise!), similar to smoked salmon but with a bit more wood influence. Behind all of the smoked malt there are hints of sweet malt and fainter hints of grassy hops.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Loads of smoked malt up front backed by soft caramel malt flavors. Near the end of the sip grassy hop flavors manage to worm their way out before giving way to the smoked malts to carry it on through.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with substantial carbonation that makes it go down smoothly.

Drinkability is good. I shared a 22 oz. and I'm glad that I did. This isn't a knock on the flavors, it's more me not being acclimated to smoked beers.

Overall this isn't an overly intense smoked beer and is one that is worth a shot.

Pours a clear, deep reddish orange with about .5" of cream-coloured bubbly head fed by some vigorous carbonation with some excellent retention. Some sweet malt and some hops detectable in the nose, but it's largely smoke. Smells like smoked haddock or other whitefish. Quite pleasant. Some sweet malts at first and then the smoke flavour kicks in on the first sip. The smokiness continues for a little while and eventually gives way to the hoppy finish which lingers pleasantly. The smokiness is just right for me. Very lovely. The mouthfeel is a little thin and carbonated for me. I prefer this to some of the German rauchbiers which are a less subtle I find. I'm pretty sure the smoked malt is different. This is much more of a smoked fish flavour than smoked ham. Very very tasty, and a nice sipping brew.

A- This beer has a warm pecan wood colored body that is crystal clear with a strong carbonation of big bubbles. The head is a spongy light tan color that turns rocky but last for a bit.

S- This beer has a slight salty smoky note that is pretty light but very distinct. There is a slight Band-Aid note from the peat and a soft malt note in the background.

T- This beer has an earthy alder smoke flavor with a slight dry roasted malt flavor aswell. The finish has a nice spicy hop flavor with a light citrus note that compliments the smoke notes. The banded taste comes through in the malt but it is pretty light.

M- This beer has a medium-full mouthfeel.

D- This beer has an interesting flavor but I would like more malt flavor to compliment the smoke. It is not over smoked but more depth would be nice. The peat smoke flavor is soft and keeps the plastic Band-Aid flavor down.

T-Malty, smoky, very much like the smell. Smoke is a little overpowering, not overwhelming, but I wish it were more subtle. Malts hit the palate first then heavy smoke, followed by some tangy hops and a long smokey finish. I was grilling up some hot dogs while tasting this and had to admit that the cured meat reminded me a lot of this beer.

M-Well balanced overall, medium mouthfeel and carbonation

D-Not very, I really didn't like this and ended up saving the rest to use as a marinade. Glad I tried this, I was curious about it, but smoke flavor in beer is just not my thing.

This beer pours a hazy medium golden orange, with a couple of fingers of thick, puffy off-white head, which leaves webbed lace around the glass. It smells of nice, soft, campfire smoke, like that sweatshirt that you forgot to wash after wearing it camping all weekend, as well as some caramel malt and grassy hops. The taste is smoked caramel malt, some citrus (burnt grapefruit?), and grassy hops. The carbonation is fairly average, the body adequately weighted to balance the smokiness, and it finishes a bit off-dry, the smoke tailing off to some singed caramel sweetness, and tangy, bitter hops.

A nice even dose of smoke, after having a few of those Scottish peat monsters. Good as an exposure to a special style, but not something that I'd want to have more than one of.

This beer pours a burnt orange amber with a giant tan foamy head. This beer is a work of art to look at. The smell is a strong smoked wood odor,almost a sweet malt. Very nice. The taste is creamy and smooth,the smoke flavor is dominate ,but doesn't smother the other more subtle flavors which include malt, hops, and some fruit,cherry? The m/f is light and very well balanced. An excellant beer for a BBQ, but I can't say I'd more than one or two of these. I really like this beer, it's just that the flavor is different and may be tough to have more than 2.

Pours out a stormy haze-filled amber. Large pale-yellow head shows great durability. Clinging and milkshake-like.
Ashy and malty nose. Smoke is not as pronounced as most of the classics. Substancial bready notes with flashes of chocolate. Hops are noted, but to extent that they play in this brew.
Taste begins somewhat bready with an underlying camel sweetness. Hints of coffee and chocolate, but they disappear as soon as they are identified. A large, lazy, smoke cloud decends. Not overly assertive, but just present to add some smoky goodness. Just as this begins to settle in and smother the mouth in that smoky embrace, the hops rudely enter and shatters the moment. Like your drunken roommate entering the room on you and your ladyfriend (or boyfriend...or your blow-up doll). Lingering burnt toast flavors afterwards and memories of euphoria lost.
Medium and creamy mouthfeel. Light to medium carbonation.
Still pretty nice, but could have been wonderful.
F'king hops.

Big head, cloudy brown. Aroma of smoke but also floral hops. Smoke, fruity peach,grassy hops, carmel, malt sweetness, more smoke. A Rogue is there behind the smoke. I may like it without all the smoke. Thanks MDS, Radekfest 05 sample 28. Medium mouthfeel.

Undated 7 oz bottle. Carefully poured off of the yeast it's only slightly hazy. The body is a deep orange-tinted copper. A short foamy head drops quickly to nothing. The aroma is quite astonishing and reminds me of my favorite smoked beer, the Alaskan Smoked Porter (also by John Maier). I guess that's the Alderwood. But there's also some sweet malt there that's just as inviting. The body is medium/light and quite smooth in the mouth as there's only a limited carbonation. The flavor starts with a rich and sweet Munich and caramel maltiness but soon gives way to smokiness. Very nice! The bitterness rises in the finish along with a palate coating smokiness. The Beechwood flavor is noticeable. Very well done with lots of smoke flavor, but not overly aggressive and cloying. Some minor hop flavor is also present throughout, although I suspect that this is an old bottle that's dulled considerably. Still, it's quite nice and I intend to enjoy a few more of these!